6 months on, buzz is back at deserted iconic Kashi ghats

Kamal Joshi, a resident of Lucknow, is sitting on the stairs at iconic Dashashwamedh Ghat. At a distance, many other tourists can be seen taking a holy dip in the Ganga. Just round the corner, priest Ramu Pandey is busy in attending the devotees.

With tourists from adjoining districts and neighbouring states like MP and Chhattisgarh beginning to visit Varanasi mostly for religious purposes, the sixmonth long silence and desolation have turned into usual buzz and hustle bustle at the ghats here.

“I like spending time at the ghat and watching Maa Ganga flowing calmly. It gives me peace of mind. I travelled all the way to the city of ghats to have this experience,” said Joshi, who has also visited prominent temples, including Baba Kashi Vishwanath,

Baba Kaal Bhairav, Maa Kushmanda also known as Durga Mandir and Lord Sankatmochan Hanuman Temple.

Another tourist, Dr Sushil Mishra from Pratapgarh, is also sitting at the ghat to experience spirituality and scenic view of Ganga. His visit to the city is for religious purpose. While ghats had been wearing a deserted look for about six months, around a fortnight ago an average 200 people started visiting the ghat daily. Now the figure had increased to 500 daily, said Pandey. As domestic tourists have started visiting the ghats, the buzz is back. Many tourists offer donations to us after taking holy dip in Ganga.

Donation made by the devotees and visitors to priests like us is the only source of our livelihood. We are happy with the change and wish that global pandemic fade away immediately, Pandey said. Arrival of the domestic tourists is bringing back smile on faces on boatmen like Shambhu Manjhi. “Number of the visitors to the ghats is increasing day by day. The rise is gradual. But it has ended disappointment among the boatmen because every makes an earning daily required to expenses of his family,” Shambhu Manjhi said.

He said that boatmen’s business will, however, shine when foreign tourists start landing in the city.At Asi Ghat, a foreign tourist was sitting with a Baba under a tree. “I am in Varanasi for over six months. Maybe, I will stay one more month in the ancient city,” the tourist said.

Regional Tourism officer Keertiman Srivastava said that number of domestic tourists was increasing. “We wish that this pandemic vanishes and foreign tourists start arriving in the city so that disappointment in hospitality industry disappears,” he said.